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IN MET R MANILAO
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 327 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES JANUARY 7, 2024
EPIPHANY MASS. Pope
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DESTABILIZERS ALLIED PENSION, PEACE TALKS ISSUES USED TO AGITATE MILITARY
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ORMER senator Antonio Trillanes IV said the people behind moves to “agitate” active members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines are allied “with the Dutertes.” While he did not provide details nor names, Trillanes said some “valid” internal causes as well as disinformation of the peace talks with the communist rebels were raised against the Marcos administration. “You can really identify that most of them are allied with the Dutertes. Their agenda is to agitate, hoping they can encourage active members of the Armed Forces. But so far, they are unsuccessful,” he said in a television interview. “There are valid issues like the reduction in pension, the fixed term law that affected the careers of some officials. So they have internal causes that agitate them (active members of the AFP) but these were corrected already.” “Then there was the alleged ceasefire with the NPA. Many were agitated but the government has clarified that there are peace talks efforts but no ceasefire,” he added. For her part, Philippine National Police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo appealed to the public not to believe everything they see online, including a video that used the photos of PNP Chief Police General Benjamin Acorda Jr. and AFP Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner Jr. and portrayed them as being involved in efforts to change the government leadership. “We appeal to our fellow citizens not to easily believe in videos or posts you see online, especially if you do not know their source and origin,” Fajardo said. “At the moment, we are not monitoring any destabilization plot as we have been hearing lately,” she added. Fajardo said the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group would unmask those behind the fake and misleading social media posts and would be filing complaints against them. Meanwhile, Trillanes said probers of the International Criminal Court may have already finished their investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity stemming from the war on illegal drugs campaign of the Duterte administration. “I think the case is now at the finishing touches level for some of the principals, while those who are at the secondary level, cases are still being built up or are about to be completed too,” he said.
Francis kisses a statuette of the Christ child as he presides a mass for the Epiphany in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Jan. 6, 2024. In his homily, he called on the faithful to abandon “ecclesiastical ideologies” and to find God in the faces of the poor instead of “basking in some elegant religious theory.” AFP
RODY REJECTS DESTAB LINK, URGES PINOYS TO FOLLOW RULE OF LAW By Joyce Pangco Pañares
DESTAB TALKS.
Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (top photo), in a television interview, says the people agitating the military are ‘allied with the Dutertes.’ The former President, in a press conference in Davao City late Saturday evening, says only ‘stupid people’ would believe the claim that he is involved in any destabilization plot. Screengrabs from ANC, Facebook live
FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte said only “stupid people” will link him to destabilization efforts against the administration as he urged Filipinos to observe the rule of law. Earlier in the day, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said the people agitating active military members were “allied with the Dutertes.” “Who in their right mind -- police or military -- will meet with me to talk about destabilization?” Duterte said during a press briefing late Saturday evening streamed live on Facebook. “Why should I do that? To find someone to replace Marcos? I am comfortable with Marcos, why should I replace him?” Duterte said he has “grown tired” of such rumors. “I do not want chaos. Let us just follow the Constitution...Change can happen through a democratic process, but not through bloody revolts or destabilization.” “Every time there is destabilization, or you break the process of democracy, you take a gamble. Destabilization is not the solution...Let the people decide, that is why we have elections. Let democracy work. Help democracy work,” he added. Asked if he is satisfied with the Marcos administration, Duterte said: “In a sense, we have not seen any issue of corruption or abuse. In a sense, Marcos is treading a straight path.” “I can’t say there is a need for change or anything. I do not see any need for agitation—nothing,” he added. Duterte, however, acknowledged that there are sentiments raised against President Marcos, but these did not emanate from his hometown in Davao City. “The sentiment is strongest in Manila, not here in Davao,” Duterte said.
SPEAKER SEEKS LEGISLATED FIXED INCOME FOR PUV DRIVERS By Maricel V. Cruz SPEAKER Martin Romualdez has vowed to pursue legislation that will enable PUV drivers to have a stable and fixed income amid the government’s transport modernization push. “We are exploring avenues to provide fixed income opportunities for drivers. This move aims to stabilize their earnings, helping them to plan and secure their financial futures more effectively. We believe that a stable income will not only benefit the drivers but will also contribute to a more organized and reliable transport system,” he said. Romualdez earlier called for a congressional inquiry into the alleged corruption surrounding the government’s jeepney modernization program.
Until measures to help PUV drivers are in place, Romualdez said he was appealing to the DOTr “to conduct a complete review of the modernization program and extend the period of its implementation.” As this developed, the president of the Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas (LTOP) said the PUV Modernization Program would help ease the traffic congestion in the country. “This PUV modernization is the solution to the heavy traffic...We really have to follow the rules and regulations set by the government,” LTOP national president Orlando Marquez Sr. said. “Let’s start with the consolidation process. It will be followed by the process that paves the way for road rationalization,” he added.
PRO-MODERNIZATION. Orlando Marquez, president of the Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas (LTOP), defends the PUV Modernization Program, saying it would help ease traffic congestion in the country. Robert Gines
SANCTIONS EYED VS. NGCP, OPERATORS OVER W. VISAYAS BLACKOUT By Charles Dantes THE government is eyeing potential sanctions against the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the operators of multiple power plants following the recent power out-
ages in Western Visayas, the Energy Regulatory Commission said on Saturday. ERC chairperson Mona Dimalanta said investigation into the massive power outage may be completed in six to eight weeks.
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Dimalanta said sanctions could be imposed “against NGCP or whoever else is accountable.” “We don’t just excuse the power plants, for example. Because the six power plants may have lapses in maintaining standards. For example,
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did any of them fail to follow the Grid Code? In that case, they may also be penalized. It’s not just NGCP if we find that they didn’t do their job,” she said. She said the NGCP is facing backlash because it is the “main actor” in operating, maintaining, and developing
the country’s state-owned power grid. Power outages hit the islands of Panay, Guimaras, and Negros due to the trip-offs of the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) Units 1 and 2, as well as the Palm Concepcion Power Corp. Unit 1.
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